Øyvind's moving thread

Is it okay that I make this thread? I plan on making it pretty much a second diary where I talk about my intention to move to New Mexico and start a new life, tabula rasa, but one that other people can comment in if they have any advice (though there's no pressure to reply).

So my question, since this is the Uncertainty Principle section: is it okay that this thread stays here, and I keep updating?

I defined the many problems that makes my "way out" (of a pointless existence in a country I'm tired of) seem unrealistic. (It brings me down that it doesn't seem like it can happen)

1. How will I live and how will I afford it?
2. How will I make money? I have no work experience and I'm quite introverted and shy
3. How will I make friends and contacts?
4. How will I afford a place to live without having a job?
5. How will I get a place to live there before travelling there?
6. If I live in a hotel at first, how can I be sure I find a place to live AND a job before the hotel gets too expensive?

there are more problems that I haven't written down.

regarding #3, I don't have any friends and contacts here either, so here's the thing: If I just have some sort of social interaction at work, even if I don't hang out with them on my free time, I will still be better off than I am here.

Regarding #1 and #2, I realize I have to involve someone from real life. My mother and my therapist. I think I can convince my therapist to help me, I have to be tougher with my mother, I have to say that this is my life, I have to move out and the place I'm thinking of moving out to is a bit further away than what might have been expected, but it's the only thing I will accept. I have to involve them in the planning (rather than present a finished plan to them and tell them it's what I'm going to do) because they know better than me how economic things work.

So, I hope it's okay that this thread stays here and I keep updating it. If not, just move it to the diary section, but I could really use some input now and then. And not the kind where people tell me I should forget it or that it's just not possible.

I think if you are serious about moving then you need to consider a few things. First of all, how do you know you are even going to like it in New Mexico if you've never even been there? You ought to visit there a few times, explore the different areas to see where you would like to move to and which areas you need to avoid. You also need to see if you actually like where you are moving to because there's no point moving from one place where you are miserable to another place that is miserable and then you are stuck there.

Second thing is money. You NEED to have money. You won't even get past immigration if you don't have a certain amount of funds on you or can provide proof of adequate funds in your bank account. If they don't believe you are there for a legitimate purpose they will send you on the first plane back home. Another thing is you WILL need a job before moving there so you can get a work visa. They will not let you in the country without a visa of some sort. If they believe you are there to stay, without a job and without funds they will send you on the first plane back home. So you really need to have a good, hard and long think about what you are going to do because you don't sound prepared in the slightest.

You NEED a job, you NEED funds and you will NEED knowledge of the area.

How old are you? How much money do you currently have? How much does it cost to rent an apartment in New Mexico? Where are the hot spots for work? What sort of work are you capable of doing?(labor, customer service, more specialized ect) Are you used to adapting to new places?

What have you calculated you need for weekly/monthly food bills. Internet bills. Gas/electric. Transportation to and from work / shopping.

Wait you're from Norway? Have you ever been to the States before? My questions are extremely important. And the most important is, what are you planning on doing? You need a dream or some idea of what you want even if it's "impossible" because of current limitations. If you go blindly, well... I would highly suggest you don't.

Btw, you need money. Lots of it. Emergency money. Do you have a passport? How about a working Visa? How are you going to get that without a pre lined up job? What do you know about New Mexico?

PS. Health care is not free in America as far as I'm aware. You also should take the time to learn their tax system.

I would suggest visiting a place before moving there. SHould you move to the states , will you have a job lined up? have you looked at the process for work visa or the stipulations of being a non-us citizen working in america? These are some important things you want to consider because you are going to have to make a living here somehow. And god forbid you hate where you moved to, and have no money to take it back.

Well, I could be excessively motivational but just trying to keep it real. Especially if you are under 19 or around there. And your reasons aswell.. I've done the whole Country jump and it's not greatly difficult, but you need to be a bit intune with yourself. So you should be able to hold a "roughish" job in your own community first before attempting to jump into a completely new Country. If you can do that, and are prepared to be really flexible with work, then it's not as huge of a deal. Still huge though.

I take it you don't really want to share your reasons for going to New Mexico. No idea if this is relevant to your situation, but if you are leaving your Country because of a relationship, I'd be warey. You're on this forum for a reason, and it's very important to be grounded in who you are before you make a move like this. If this is purely for interdependency, awesome. Again, your age and stuff is sorta important, because it helps to clarify things you may not consider important, but which some of us who are a bit older know are important. Such as your education, and future. Working visas aren't the same as student visas. Remember that.. and foreigners have to pay double if not triple the prices for schooling. Plus you have social issues to consider, though being from Norway I think the Americans will be very friendly.

A few things - glossed over above but certainly worth very serious consideration.

My first and biggest recommendation - Go visit as a tourist before moving forward with the planning. On a tourist visa you can stay up to 90 days. If you really think you have narrowed down the exact city and state (remember the US is BIG - it is very different on size scale moving from state to state than going from place to place in Europe - I would suggest doing a little traveling around to a few different places before trying to choose blindly from reading a specific city but I am sure you have done research and have some reasons for that spot- in that case go spend 30 - 90 days there. Ideally have some spare travel money so if after 2 weeks you decide that is the wrong spot for you you can check out another couple cities or states. This would also answer many of your questions. With an extended visit you could get an excellent idea of what the work climate is like, what type of skill would result in a job, and what the social situation is like. To get a visa to immigrate to the US it is much much easier with a sponsor. It may be possible to find an individual or a company willing to sponsor you on an extended visit or at least have a point of contact on this side of the ocean for the rest of your planning in the area you are looking at.

Immigration to the US is not easy at all. There are millions and millions of applications every year and the approval rate is less than 5%. Simply put- too many people want to come to the US (despite all the negative things said about the US all over the world we are still the number 1 immigration place by an exceptionally large margin. It is impossible to say yes to everybody and the current political and social climate here is far more towards greater limitations than more access.

Without advanced degrees and professional skills and licences, getting anything besides a student/work/tourist visa is nearly impossible. To be blunt, I doubt you will be qualified for anything but a student visa for more than a 90 day visit (that is based on my experience and a less than full knowledge of you and your skills- just what you have written here or in your diary so it is not absolute fact but something you really need to look into sooner rather than later). If you come on a work visa and lose you job - you will be asked to leave immediately. If you come on a student visa then as soon as you finish your course of study you will be sent home unless you have an approved application for a permanent visa. Without a sponsor here, it is very difficult to just "stay here" (legally at least).

Medical treatment - it is not free (and it is not free for us in Europe either FWIW- when we travel to Europe and get sick your hospitals and Doctors give us bills just as big as the ones back here- In the EU you have agreements to treat each others citizens, but you do not treat visitors from other places in the world free). As of January 1st of this year, it is required by law all permanent residents (citizens or not) to have and maintain medical insurance in the US. While it is a small fine of a few hundred dollars on the taxes (that gets bigger every year for the next few years) for citizens that do not have insurance, it is cause to deport non citizens legally. Health insurance in the US for you would be around $4500/ year if paying out of pocket and not provided by an employer for you and you will not qualify as an immigrant for the government subsidies to help pay for it until you have been in the tax system paying taxes for some number of years, so in the money calculations make sure to add in for medical insurance. This insurance still will have copay's and deductibles as well, so even with the insurance you will need to pay maybe $35 for an office visit and it will not pay anything for the first $1000-$3000 in medical expenses each year depending on the policy (this is all new this year with Obama Care and will take a little digging to get the correct information on - talk to the US Embassy in Norway for all the fine print on immigration and insurance requirements- they will be your best source of information and ultimately where you will need to take your visa application anyway).

Look into the visa applications to become a permanent resident alien (anything longer than 90 days unless on work visa or student visa). There are some very strict guidelines on who can and cannot even apply. This is a really good place to start with the real information on immigration and a green card. http://www.uscis.gov/greencard - this lists all the ways to get a green card as well as a brief overview of the criteria for submitting an application.

Thanks again guys. Yeah both immigration and work permit seems unlikely. The wheels are currently in motion for a long tourist stay of maybe a month or more, with my sister, funded by my father as a birthday present (My birthday is in October, hers in November). Then later on I'll try to get a study visa and something to study. What I study isn't as important as getting the fuck outta Norway, as long as I'm smart enough layball:
My mother seems to think this will do me good, which is a surprise, I thought she would try to talk me down.

Sounds a really good plan to go and stay for a month or more - see if it is "for you" and how you feel when you are there. Does your sister have a permanent visa for the states? (I do not know but having family who are permanent residents seems likely to be a plus point for any visa application).

It would be a good plan to do some research on the cost of study - I know for the UK the cost of study for international students is way higher than for UK students - it can get to £25k+ per year and obviously international students can't apply for loans etc to cover it. If you look on some of the US uni websites they will have prices for international study so you can get prepared for what it might cost. Also would be really good to talk to you therapist about preparing to study - so you can work on ways to improve concentration spans and staying motivated on "black" days, so you mitigate the possibility of being hit by a depression and failing out, and for skills to deal with being around a lot of real life strangers so you can improve your social interaction.

There are over 1.5 million members on that forum, and it may be more helpful because the forums and audiences are specific to your circumstance.

You will need an immigrant visa only if you intend to stay permanently. Otherwise, you WILL NEED a non-immigrant visa to temporarily live, work, tour and/or study in the U.S., and for this you will need to finish a DS-160 through the US State Department.

Wow, fill out an application and have an interview at the embassy just to visit...The US must really hate tourists

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I guess they have bad immigration issues there. I know that if you want to travel to Canada you can simply go if you have a passport from the majority of countries. But you will probably be asked my immigration if you have enough money and a few other basic questions.